parar
verbo transitivo
1 [+persona, coche, respiración] to stop
me paró a punta de pistola he stopped me at gunpoint; nos paró la policía we were stopped by the police; pararon el tráfico en el centro they stopped the traffic in the centre; no hay quien pare el avance tecnológico there is no stopping technological progress
verbo intransitivo
1 (detenerse, terminar) to stop
¡pare! stop!; el autobús para enfrente the bus stops opposite; paramos a echar gasolina we stopped to get some petrol
¡no para! siempre está haciendo algo he never stops! he's always doing something
¡y no para! [+hablante] he just goes on and on!; no parará hasta conseguirlo he won't stop o give up until he gets it
parar en seco to stop dead
sin parar
los teléfonos sonaban sin parar the phones never stopped ringing; lloraba sin parar he didn't stop crying; fumaba sin parar she smoked non-stop; she chain-smoked; hablar sin parar to talk non-stop; estuvo una semana lloviendo sin parar it rained uninterruptedly o without a break for a week
¡dónde va a parar!
es mucho mejor este ¡dónde va a parar! this one's much better, there's no comparison!
2
parar de hacer algo to stop doing sth
ha parado de llover it has stopped raining
no para de quejarse he never stops complaining; he complains all the time
y para de contar and that's that
3
ir a parar to end up
la empresa podría ir a parar a manos extranjeras the firm could end up in foreign hands; nos equivocamos de tren y fuimos a parar a Manchester we got on the wrong train and ended up in Manchester; fueron a parar a la comisaría they ended up at the police station; la herencia fue a parar a manos de su primo the inheritance went to his cousin; no sabemos en qué va a ir a parar todo esto we don't know where all this is going to end; ¿dónde habrá ido a parar todo aquel dinero? what can have become of o happened to all that money?
¿dónde vamos a ir a parar? where's it all going to end?; what is the world coming to?
verbo pronominal
pararse1 [+persona] to stop; [+coche] to stop; pull up; [+proceso] to stop; come to a halt; [+trabajo] to stop; come to a standstill
se paró en la puerta he stopped at the door
no se paran ante nada they will let nothing stop them
el reloj se ha parado the clock has stopped
pararse a hacer algo to stop to do sth; pause to do sth